Jimmy John's = Life

Yesterday afternoon I laid out on the roof and tanned. It was incredibly hot out there. The whole day was really hot and humid. At one point, I think I was very dehydrated. But then in the evening I went in the basement where it was a lot cooler and worked dilligently with my computer... and once again I am there, though it isn't as cool as before.

German is fun.

Andria, my roommate, got a hamster. It's cute but loud on the wheel at night. Hmm. Hopefully tonight won't be as bad. Her name is Puggy.

My foot had a huge blister from walking to church on Sunday. But it popped as I was walking and so now it's just a huge scab. Mmm, tastey. I like it.

Yes, I am aware that no one reads this, but I still enjoy typing in it and leaving my thoughts and life events for those that might care or take the time to read.

So yeah... hot. Really hot. Hopefully I can go to the Arb tomorrow. I want someone to come visit me and go to the Arb with me. I've only ever gone by myself.

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

This morning I could not decide whether or not to go to church. You see, I had no ride and so going to church would involve an hour of walking. I lay in bed going over the pros and cons: sleeping more, being lazy, being bored, sleeping more, an hour of walking, sleeping more, etc. Finally at 9:06 I realized that this could possibly be my second to last Sunday at Huron Hills, and so I resolutely got out of bed and quickly took a shower and got ready. I didn't have to be there until 11:00, but HHBC is not really a hop, skip, and a jump from my house. No, it's more like 3 miles... and it was hot and humid. Wonderful. I was going to show up gross and sweaty to church. How nice. And I did show up hot and sweaty exactly an hour after I left. The first thing I did when I got there was wash my face... and how I can say that I walked 3 miles to get to church. "When I was your age, sonny, I walked 3 miles uphill with no shoes in the blazing heat just to go to church, so don't complain and be happy you have a bike." Oh yeah, to top it off I was walking in sandals and now have a huge gross blister on my right foot to show for it. It's oozing. Yum.

After church, I ate Jimmy John's in Gallup Park with people from church. There were geese... attacking. Afterwards, we threw around a frisbee. It was really fun, but really hot.

Yesterday I finished Angels and Demons. I read it the entire day. In fact, I was so engrossed that I forgot to eat dinner, and when I finished at 10:30pm it was too late. So, in conclusion, the only thing I ate the entire day was lunch (leftover pizza) and the only thing I drank was a glass of Dr. Pepper. Jenny would beat me up... heh heh. And then it was 24 hours before I ate again. But anyway, the book was good, although it was in many ways predictable. And I don't know how I feel about the twist at the end. It was mostly surprising but I think it definitely made me like the book less.

I'm pretty sure that I'm a bit sunburnt. It's so hot. I think the projected high was 90 degrees today, plus it was/is humid.

Hip-Hop and Humidity

The trademarks of summer.

It turns out that I'm turning into my mother. I guess that's not entirely a bad thing. I payed for a pop for Amy, a girl in my house, a couple days ago (it was about $1.50) and she wants to pay me back but I keep telling her that she doesn't have to... just like my mother would. It feels like my mom and either Bonnie or Sue when Amy and I end up talking about the pop. Oh well, there are worse people to turn into than my mother... like Hitler. But I would be a good and benevolent dictator.

Apparently the word 'benevolent' is at the 12th grade level. But that's according to Microsoft Word spell check, and we all know how accurate that is.

I got a 100% on my most recent German quiz!!!

The freaks are graduating in a week. ;) 2 June 2006. Ross's party is that next weekend and Ryan's is a couple weeks later. I have begun getting their graduation presents, and I've been thinking about them for weeks and weeks already. In conclusion, they better appreciate them! Heh heh heh.

Today was completely useless. I played Text Twist and InkLink for hours and hours (11-6). Yeah. And I got Andria hooked on InkLink. But something good did come out of it. I was playing InkLink and sometimes I would randomly spout off in German because what's the fun of speaking a second language if you can't annoy people on the internet with it. The people in the room kept 'booting' me (which is where they try to kick me out of the room and it shows little boot icons next to my name). So I said, 'ich mag meine Schuhe', which is 'I like my shoes'. And then, lo and behold, someone answered me in German! How hot is that?!?!? So 'Backdraft' and I started talking to each other in German during the game and eventually went over to MSN instant messanger... yeah, we talked for a while. As it turns out, his name is Sven and he's from Germany. :) I met a German while playing InkLink. You just gotta love the randomness.

I'm going to start reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, the same guy who wrote The Da Vinci Code. I hear they're good..

All I've Ever Needed

Things that annoy me:
-people not locking the front door
-people not using their turn signal
-people leaving their crap everywhere and not cleaning up after themselves
-inconsiderate people
-people who think they can sing well but really can't
-people in general

I was on a message boards and saw that there were a ton of people who were complaining about their lives. It appears that there are many who are not satisfied with life. Why do you suppose that is?

Last night I took a late night stroll through the Arb. It was really dark, but the stars were out. It was nice and it would've been nicer if there would've been less people. I only had a t-shirt on and so after a while my arms got chilly. I was there from about 10:15ish to about midnight. I went in the Markley entrance and, when I left, was going to go to the cemetary on Observatory, but I decided instead to find the Geddes entrance to the Arb. And I also took a nice little stroll through Markley. That was fun. Then on my way back, some guy who smelled like alcohol asked me for 50 cents.

Today was a big day and I had big plans for it. After getting up at 10:20, taking a shower, and eating lunch, I began my journey. First I went to borders to look for a movie (sadly, I did not find it) and I spent a while there. Then I went to the Michigan Union Book Store, where I bought a few things and found some special U of M Jones Soda in my favorite flavor, Berry Lemonade. But because I had not planned to be carrying around a 4-pack of pop, my plans had to change a little bit and I had to take a detour back to the house. On my way back to my scheduled journey, I stopped at the Housing Office and turned in the forms to terminate my housing contract for next year. Stucci's was next on my list because Alison was working this afternoon. I talked to her for a while, although I always feel bad taking people away from their work.

After Stucci's, I started to walk to the Geddes entrance of the Arb. But two small asian ladies stopped me and asked how to get to some building that I had never heard of. As I was trying to make sense of the map, Joe (a.k.a. Cho Han Youl) walked by. I asked him for his input about the building and eventually we figured it out. Then I was talking to Joe on the street corner and there was a loud crunch. I looked over to South U and saw a white car with its front end totally bashed in. That sucks. After a nice little conversation with Joe, I continued on to the Gedes entrance of the Arb.

The Arb was great. This was the 4th time I went this spring. I took my homework and at one point I actually sat down and read the stuff I was supposed to read, but I only did that after I had explored a little. Exploring the Arb is my new passion. I love trees, the smell of flowers and the woods, the sound of the river and the wind rustling the leaves, and the tiny trails that look like they are rarely walked... ahh. You know, the small (as in not wide) trails are the best. They are the most secluded and the most fun to explore. I mean, it's really not that fun to walk down a path as big as a dirt road, but a tiny trial... that's the best. I love to lose myself on those trails. One went up a hill where the forest was thicker, and the smell of 'green' there was overpowering. I did my homework by a dense patch of purple and white flowers and at one point I washed my feet in the river. There were chipmunks around and I think I even saw a fox. My Arb adventure ended when I strolled/limped past the ready-to-bloom peonies and out the Markley entrance.

On the way back, I stopped at the foutnain by the MLB and washed my feet and sandals. My feet were so dirty and they are still very very very sore. I have blisters... and now I remember why I chose to wear shoes the second time I went this spring. I saw/heard a bass clarinet trio playing on the sidewalk as I was walking back towards my house.

The One with the East German Laundry Detergent

There was a HHBC BBQ on Friday night and, mmm, it was good. The games were also entertaining. We played catch phrase and telephone pictionary. The first time I had played telephone pictionary was in German last semester. My phrase was 'the badger is cold because it is dead' and it ended up being something about an animal making snow angels. This time mine went from 'jump on that train and ride' to 'pigs might fly'.

I went for a walk in the Arb yesterday. It was a really nice and sunny and warm day. Instead of walking around the entire thing, I decided to more thoroughly explore a smaller area. It was really fun and I sat by the river on a tree root for a while (like I did last time). On one path, I saw a cardinal. One path that I spent a lot of time on was one that went right behind a cemetary. I really like that path.

Today I spent most of it watching Friends. I also took a nap. It was a really nice nap. Sleeping is so wonderful. I love it.

The Desperate Housewives season finale was pretty good, but they better not let Mike die. They've already killed four other people in less than two seasons, and so they would be really stupid to make Mike die.

I've decided not to do my homework for tomorrow.

If you can tell me where my title is from, I'll give you a prize.

I can't believe they let Denny die!

Grey’s Anatomy… intense.

I found $20 on the ground yesterday outside of the MLB. That’s the second time I’ve found a twenty on the ground in the past 2-3 weeks. My luck hasn’t been too bad lately.

Yesterday evening I talked to Sarah, my German conversation partner again. She let me borrow a German DVD and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in German on CD. I’m excited! I had just talked to her Sunday afternoon.

Both history and German were boring today. I'm not overly fond of the play we're reading in German. We watched a silent movie in history called Metropolis. It wasn't bad, I was just anxious to leave.

Yeah, today (particularly this afternoon) was definitely interesting.

I'm home now... it's nice, I suppose. One of the things I'm looking forward to is food. Living on easy mac and soup isn't the most wonderful thing in the world. And of course I can't wait to see my friends.

Sleeping is nice.

Anna is adorable!

My new sandals came in the mail recently! YAY! One pair is exactly like the pair I have now except they're light blue. The other pair is slightly different but still black. They're so shiny and plastic-y smelling. It's exciting.

Llama Llama Duck

Sein oder Nichtsein. Das ist hier die Frage.

"I was just thinking… before you came into my life, I never had the need for an emergency transvestite."

So today was interesting. You don't even want to know. Ryan knows and so does Jenny. But you don't want to know. Let's just say that I dug myself an interesting little hole with my last German paper from last semester... and that my sanity is now in question.

John Travolta and Denzel Washington are two people who can't be in movies simply because their faces are too distinct.

I've dropped my history class, but I'm still going to go to the lectures and do some of the reading. Yeah, kind of weird.

The whole day was spent, for the most part, in front of my computer. I had no classes. It's nice. I'm thinking about going home for the spring concert. Maybe... we'll see.

Yeah, today was a lazy day. This week has been uneventful. I ate pizza tonight, and that could quite possibly be the highlight of this week. But maybe not. My roommate and I got pizza tonight. Besides Sunday night, it was the only real meal I ate this week.

Und bin so klug als wie zuvor.

Hope and Quietness

Sunday was another beautiful day. The Browns invited me over to their house for dinner. Kabobs... mmmm. It was definitely the best food I've had in a while. Church was fun because I got to see everyone again, and seeing everyone made the new semester feel more normal.

The most useful thing I have learned so far this semester was the German equivalent to 'you can kiss my ass'.

I really dislike homework right now. Procrastination is the meaning of life. My German homework isn't bad... I enjoy doing it and I feel as though I've accomplished something when I finish. The history homework, though, is just something that I have to do. And right now I'm too comfortable to think.

This house is always so cold! And there's a weird smell in the living room like something died. But I still enjoy living here for the most part.

By the way, du kannst mich am Arsch lecken.

Today's Reason to Exist

German on Thursday was still fun. History, though, was a bit painful. Three hours is just a very long time to be sitting in a class that your not even sure you want to stay in. It's really interesting, but I'm not too sure about the homework. There's a response paper due on Tuesday, and naturally I have no idea what to write.

Because classes are the only reasons I have to get up in the morning, yesterday I tried to find a reason to exist. There was seriously nothing to do yesterday. It was completely pointless. My plan was to get up early and go to the arb before it got cloudy. Unfortunately, I woke up [reluctantly] at 10:30 and my arb plan was then worthless. There was no way that I was just going to sit around the house the whole day though. I had to think of something to do. Anything. I figured that since I had a ton of reading to do for my classes that a good plan would be to go to the library. And so around 2pm I went to the UGLi and sat down in a comfortable chair by a window. Four hours later... The sad thing is that I didn't even get everything read in those four hours and I don't remember anything that I did read because I was daydreaming about coffee the entire time. But last night I finished the novel that I had to read, and that was satisfying. Also last night, I went to Applebee's with Beth, Angela, Dan, and Sarath. That was entertaining. Blaine showed up after a while. Before I did that though, I watched The Secret Garden. Fun times.

Today my plan was to get up early and go to the arb. Yeah... I woke up at 11am. Good one, Sarah. Oh well. Despite being a little cold, the day was going to be beautiful and at 1pm I set out for the arb. It took me about 20-25 minutes to get to the entrance near Markley. Of course I took my time getting there. From that point I simply spent the next 2 hours wandering aimlessly around. At one point I found myself down at the river and I sat there on a tree right next to the water for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then I continued on along the river towards the train tracks. I saw some ducks and geese... it was really nice. After a few minutes of walking, I departed from the river and found myself in a large open area. There were a few flowering trees in there and the grass or whatever it was was brown. I walked around that and then found the trail of daffodils and a large road/path. After a while I saw that I was at the Geddes entrance. I rested there for a couple minutes and then continued on towards what I assumed was the way I came in. On my journey, I saw lilacs and cardinals and hear birds and wind in the trees and I smelled flowers and earth... ahhh, it was great. I soon recognized the spot where we had filmed our German video in spring 05, and I walked through that valley and looked around. Then I came upon a concrete bench at the edge of a drop off, and I sat/laid there for a while in the sun, looking up at the bright green leaves of the trees contrasting beautifully with the bright blue of the sky. After maybe 15 minutes, I heard a helicopter in the distance, and so I sat up and watched it take off from the hospital. And then I left.

By that time, my feet and sandals were disgustingly dirty and so on my journey back to the house I stopped at the fountain near the Bell Tower to wash my sandals and feet. The water was cold and clear, and I ended up leaving a dirty footprint on the edge of the fountain. Whoops.

This evening I watched The Man in the Iron Mask. It wasn't my first choice, but it was the only one that my computer decided to play decently tonight. Stupid computer that I love.

That is all. I can't wait to go back to the arb, but maybe next time I'll wear shoes... and I'll be sure to take my camera.

Better to have loved and lost...

Vanessa and I were arguing about who was worse off: me with never having a 4.0 in college (not even for one semester) or Vanessa possibly losing hers. ...I win. My grades are now all reported and they are A+, A, B+, A, A, A-. Ehh...

Just another genocide?

My German 325 class yesterday was really fun. I was actually fairly talkative... speaking in German, no less. The GSI was the same one I had for German 103 in Fall 2004 and she remembered me. The two hours of class went really fast. My history class was quite interesting and the professor seems nice. The class is called "Germany in the Age of Total War" and it's basically about Germany from WWI through WWII, I think. Today we talked about Germany from 1871 to early 1900's and then Germany after WWII. The syllabus had me worried, but it seems doable now. The time block is three hours, but it went along nicely. I talked to the guy next to me a little. He's a history minor.

I fixed my chair. A screw fell out and I had to replace it without a screwdriver.

This evening I spent almost 3 hours with my German conversation partner. It was intense. We talked in English most of the time, but we also worked on my German. Heh, heh... speaking German is interesting. It's a good thing I did most of my homework before I met with her tonight.

Bread and Water

...and maybe a banana. Yes, that was my plan for lunch today. I'm too lazy to make anything and too cheap to buy anything. Bad combination. Well, actually I'm more lazy than cheap. And I did end up eating the banana.

This morning I bought some of my books for the spring semester. I spent $66, but that was just one class... and actually one of those books was optional. But then this afternoon I bought some more books and these totaled $130. They look interesting though and I'm excited to begin reading them. There's still one coursepack that I need to buy, but I'll do that Wednesday.

The bell tower can be heard from this house. I like it.

I talked to my German conversation partner today. It was fun even though I had issues with the speaking German part. She spoke so fast...

My favorite part of exam week was the box in the lobby of South Quad labeled 'silverware drop box: drop it and walk away'.

Anna is completely adorable! I miss her. She was so cute this weekend. She would grab my hair and pull on it and play with it, and she would smile and jabber on and on. I'm going to post some pictures and you're going to look at them and like them. ;)